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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27929635">with all these strings we could weave a tapestry</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/muggle95/pseuds/muggle95'>muggle95</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Muggle's DCMK Fics [14]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Magic Kaito, 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Ambiguous/Open Ending, Canonical Character Death, Friendship, Gen, Multiple Soulmates, Platonic Soulmates, Red String of Fate, Soulmate AU, WOG says Toichi lives so, also not necessarily red, also romantic but no one marries ALL their soulmates, ao3 auto-reordered my tags which makes them not all make sense oops, but he still APPEARS to die so just in case, friendship centric, lots of background characters and relationships but I tried to just tag the most important, most people have a lot, strings of fate make it much harder to have a secret identity, toichi lives</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 21:15:23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>10,146</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27929635</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/muggle95/pseuds/muggle95</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Two generations of phantom thieves are soulmates with two generations of detectives<br/>+ secret identities are hard to hide when you recognize your soulmates on sight.</p><p>a strings of fate AU (everyone has multiple strings, largely canon romantic pairings but romance is not the focus)<br/> </p><p>Rated T for onscreen apparent character death (can be G if you skip chapter 4)<br/>beware the inconsistent time skips between chapters</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kudou Shinichi | Edogawa Conan/Kuroba Kaito | Kaitou Kid, Kudou Yuusaku &amp; Kuroba Touichi, Kuroba Kaito | Kaitou Kid &amp; Nakamori Ginzou, Kuroba Touichi &amp; Nakamori Ginzou, Other Background Relationships - Relationship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Muggle's DCMK Fics [14]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1901863</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>169</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Heart Attack Exchange 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Thief and Inspector</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aibhilin/gifts">Aibhilin</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The first time Toichi did a heist in Japan, instinct told him something special was going to happen. He made sure to dress impeccably, and he prepared a few extra flashy distractions in case he needed to escape.</p><p>He didn't expect to come face to face with another soulmate.</p><p>Toichi was poised, ready to escape out the window, when the man in charge – a newly promoted Inspector Nakamori – crashed into the room, proving he had seen through all of Toichi's distractions. That was slightly intimidating for a first heist. In France, the police had taken at least four heists before they were this close behind him as he made his escape. He'd had to wait for them a few times so he could taunt them with the apparent near miss. But no, Nakamori had caught up with him, no tricks, on the first try. That could be dangerous, not that Toichi shied away from danger.</p><p>But as their eyes met, a flash of green distracted him. Fortunately, it distracted Nakamori too. It was the string connecting them manifesting as a proper connection. It wrecked his Poker Face for a moment. Toichi hadn't expected to meet a soulmate through his night job! He was a little too slow in recovering to use their mutual distraction to escape, but Nakamori met his eyes again, before taking half a step back.</p><p>“I'll get you next time, you thief!” he shouted, evidently willing to wait and see what advantages their bond would bring to the chase.</p><p>Toichi felt his eyes widen at the chance, but he scrambled to take advantage of it before Nakamori could change his mind. Out the window he went. His glider opened easily, and as he angled east to get the best lift from the wind, he let himself wonder what his relationship was destined to be with a police inspector. Perhaps they were to be rivals, always pushing each other to be their best. But he hoped they would be friends. The fact that soulmates couldn't kill each other was slim comfort.He knew that Nakamori could still arrest him. And with the Shadows angry with him for going rogue, the court case to send him to jail even briefly -- which would reveal his identity – was as good as a death sentence.</p><p> </p><p>“I met another soulmate tonight,” he informed Chikage casually. They appeared as mundane as any young couple right now, laying in bed together, whispering as they resisted the night's urge to sleep. The diamond had long since been checked against the moonlight and hidden away securely. No casual observer could suspect they were a pair of thieves.</p><p>“How concerned should I be?” Chikage teased, holding up her left hand so the yellow string connecting them was on full display. Her tone was light, but Toichi felt her stiffen against him in the dark. The only place he had been since they had talked that afternoon was his heist.</p><p>“I'm not sure yet,” Toichi answered seriously, watching the green string attached to his right middle finger drift gently from side to side. “He was the inspector in charge.” He rolled over, away from the window, and picked up one of his favorite hard candies, butterscotch, with a crinkly wrapper. “He let me go,” he admitted, softly, as he unwrapped the candy loudly. He popped the candy into his mouth, dropping his impromptu white noise generator into the trash can, and rolled onto his back again. He leaned his shoulder firmly against his wife's. “I might not get so lucky, next time,” Toichi continued, the candy tucked into his cheek long enough to talk around it.</p><p>Chikage hummed, acknowledging his statements and just how dangerous they were. Toichi crunched on his candy. Chikage gazed pensively at his hands, and Toichi followed her gaze. His hands were a veritable rainbow of connections to friends and mentors, new and old, and of course his wife, the only connection on his left ring finger. And now this Inspector, the string a lovely green where it had once been a pale gray. He only had a few gray strings left. Evidently the most significant people he would know were almost all already in his life.</p><p>Toichi could see all this, but he knew Chikage could only see her own yellow on his hands, just as that was all he could see on hers. Sometimes he wished people could see everyone's strings, even if it made the world appear cluttered, with brightly colored, non-tangible strings connecting the millions of people in the world to each other. He cherished each of his realized connections, and he would love to do the same for the important people in Chikage's life. Situations like tonight, though, made him glad each person could only see their own strings. If anyone realized that an inspector and a thief were so closely tied to each other, they would both face horrible consequences.</p><p>“Nothing to do about it tonight,” Toichi tried to reassure them both. He rolled towards his wife, and with a nudge, she also rolled on her side, at the perfect angle for him to rest his arm comfortably (protectively) across her hip. He rested his head against her neck and settled in to sleep, grateful that Chikage seemed to agree. Three am wasn't a reasonable time for anyone to be up, and neither of them were as resilient as they had been at twenty, or even twenty-five.</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Improv Night</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>With thanks to <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/knight_bus_of_doom">knight_bus_of_doom</a> for drafting the improv shenanigans</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Being a magician paid well enough – people loved to be entertained – but sometimes there was a lull in business. No one wanted to see the same show too many times in a row after all, so he would have to take time off to develop a new routine. And being a phantom thief certainly didn't pay, not when he never kept the jewels he stole. And he never would – when he found Pandora, he was determined to destroy it, and then retire. And if he never found it, well, Toichi was the best in his field, and he had been trained by the best. So if he couldn't find Pandora, at least he could sleep easy knowing that those criminals couldn't find it either. If it even existed.</p><p>Regardless, his night job didn't pay. So Toichi had advertised himself as a teacher of stagecraft and disguise, and two hopeful students had contacted him. They had arranged regular lessons, and Toichi had comfortably settled into the role of teacher.</p><p> </p><p>Sharon had disappeared almost as soon as the lesson had ended – a skill she had honed even before Toichi had started teaching them – but Yukiko pulled him aside before he could split off to take the train home. “My husband is a mystery writer,” she told him. Toichi had probably known that before, but presumably she was mentioning it now for a reason. “He would like to learn from you too. He thinks it would help him craft better stories.”</p><p>Toichi hummed an acknowledgment, not immediately saying yes or no. “He can come to one lesson for free,” he decided after a moment of thought. “But if he wants to come regularly he'll have to pay as a student, just like you.”</p><p>Yukiko didn't even hesitate. “I'll let him know!” she promised, before bounding off in the direction of her car. Toichi smiled fondly as he turned toward the train station. She was a few years older than him, yet she still had so much energy. It probably had to do with her lack of a night-job, if he were honest with himself. The paranoia and the literal lack of sleep didn't tend to help. Still, Toichi had begun thieving to protect his wife, and he still managed to present himself as a fully functional adult every day, even after some particularly late nights, so that had to count for something.</p><p> </p><p>The next week, Kudou Yuusaku accompanied his wife to their lessons. He sat patiently in the empty theater seating while Toichi was teaching the women about the importance of a Poker Face. Even if you forgot the script, or misplaced a prop, or dropped something, if you appeared unaffected then the audience would believe it was something you had planned. It was the most important skill he had brought from his experience as a magician to the stage as a Kaitou, not that he was saying that to anyone besides Chikage.</p><p>“Excuse me, Kudou-san,” Toichi called politely, turning to their audience of one for the first time that night. Their eyes met, and Toichi immediately had to lean upon his own well-practiced Poker Face. Another string turned abruptly from gray to a blue exactly the shade of the stripe on his white Kaitou hat. Well. This wasn't the worst way he had met a soulmate. “Would you care to help the ladies practice?” he asked smoothly, as though nothing had happened to distract him.</p><p>Yuusaku seemed to have a natural Poker Face of his own, because he barely even blinked at their new connection, and the pause before he answered could've been natural. “How would you like me to help, sensei?” he asked, quietly amused.</p><p>“We have already discussed and practiced the skill of improvising,” Toichi answered easily. I'm going to have unscripted conversations with each of them, and if they fail to respond, or drop out of character, you boo or heckle to draw attention to that failure. Then they will have to continue the scene as though you were being silent. It's great practice for some of the most important skills.”</p><p>“I can do that,” Yuusaku agreed. His tone was bland, but amusement was still dancing in his eyes. He seemed to be someone who could convey much information with very little effort. That was probably a skill he had honed as an author.</p><p>“Yukiko-chan first, then,” Toichi decided, turning away from his new soulmate and back to his students. “We are in a hotel lobby. I am the concierge, and you are trying to check in.”</p><p>Yukiko nodded, determination burning in her eyes.</p><p>"Welcome to our fine establishment, how can I help you?” Toichi started, jumping right in. This was a fairly easy scenario. Conversations like these practically scripted themselves, but it wouldn’t do to start his students out with something more difficult and discourage them.</p><p>“Hello, I’d like to check in, please,” Yukiko replied immediately, a pleasant smile on her face, although she was holding herself stiffly. She had loosened up by the end of their last lesson, but the tension had all come back today.</p><p>Toichi saw this a lot with actors – more than with people totally new to performing. She wasn’t used to working without a script, and it made her nervous. Well, that was the point of this whole exercise. He’d need to push her, just enough to make her push herself. “Of course, ma’am. What kind of room are you looking for?” That was a rather open-ended question. Would she claim she had a reservation? Would she describe a room, answering his question more directly? This was a great way to test her flexibility.</p><p>She paused, but only for a millisecond, and then shook her hair out, and he suppressed a grin as she spoke with confidence. “A queen bed should suffice, somewhere near the ground floor, for me and my husband.” Her eyes twinkled a bit at the last part, and darted past Toichi to focus on... Actually he wouldn't break his Poker Face to look. But there were only so many people in this theater, and Yukiko's face had lit up in a way she only did when talking about her husband.</p><p>Yuusaku chuckled from behind him. “Hey, don't look at me Buttercup, his eyes are right there!”</p><p>Toichi was impressed. He had expected heckling, like he had asked for, but instead Yuusaku had moved – so silently that Toichi, a phantom thief, hadn't heard him – from the audience to the stage, trying to startle them both. He ignored his new soulmate’s unexpected sense of humor and did <em>not</em>acknowledge his surprise by turning around. It wouldn't do to let them break his Poker Face while he was trying to teach others to keep one up. He focused on his student again. She was doing okay so far, so he would push a bit further, make her set down some traits about her character. He typed on an invisible computer. “I’m afraid the only available room larger than single occupancy is one of our penthouse suites,” he said, modulating his voice to be just this side of insufferable. “They each have a lovely view over the city. I’d be delighted to set you up in one.” He smiled benignly, and waited for her choice. Would she play a meek character and fold, accepting the choice between two single rooms for a couple or an expensive suite, or would she play a firecracker and storm out in anger?</p><p>He was quietly proud when she snapped back at him immediately, “this is a forty– I mean a fifty-floor hotel! How can you not–”</p><p>“Wait, how many floors does it have?” Yuusaku asked, laughter in his voice. <em>That</em> was the heckling Toichi had asked for.</p><p>“–not –not have a mid-size room? You– I– uh...”</p><p>“You're losing steam now. Come on, ask for the honeymoon suite!”</p><p>Yukiko stuttered a few more times and then broke down laughing, almost doubled over. She pointed a finger at her husband accusingly. “I’ve changed my mind! <em>You</em> are not allowed to come to my stagecraft classes anymore, <em>dear</em>.” There was so much fondness wrapped up in the attempted venom of that word, it warmed Toichi's heart. It reminded him of Chikage's anger when he had let himself get into too much danger during a heist. It was always lovely to meet another truly <em>happy</em> couple.</p><p>He smiled genially and took a step to the side to get them both in view. He was glad that Yukiko was responding with laughter rather than discouragement.</p><p>Yuusaku raised hands in mock surrender. “I was just following directions,” he insisted.</p><p>“You were having a bit too much fun with your obedience,” Yukiko told him, her attempt at a stern face broken by her lingering grin.</p><p>Sharon was laughing with the couple as they laughed at themselves. Toichi grinned across at her, hoping she remembered her turn was coming soon.</p><p>“You did well,” Toichi interrupted before they could all waste <em>too</em> much time laughing. He flashed an approving smile at Yuusaku for his help, then focused back on Yukiko. “You got caught up in details, and in the heckling your husband provided. And then you broke character and your Poker Face to scold him,” he explained, highlighting her failures. He always liked to put the successes last, as encouragement. “But you made confident decisions for your character, which is great. Try to apply that confidence to everything, all right?”</p><p>She nodded, acknowledging his advice.</p><p>“Ready to try again?”</p><p>Yukiko shook herself out and smiled fiercely, just as determined as before. “Yes! Let's do this.”</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Riddles and Challenges</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Toichi was alarmed to realize, with only minutes to go before his latest heist was due to start, that not only was Ginzo in the crowd preparing to detain him, Yuusaku was nearby too. It was only his second heist since he had met Yuusaku in person, and already there were two people present who could follow their strings straight to him as he worked. Ginzo made a habit of only chasing him during the heist itself, as though he were as innocently clueless as any of his officers, but Yuusaku was so far an unknown. It was too late to ask Jii to set anything up, but Toichi was very good at improvising. He wouldn't cancel the heist over this. His Poker Face would hold. He would just make it as quick as possible, to minimize complications.</p><p>Yuusaku, fortunately, wasn't in the crowd of officers. Toichi had breathed a silent sigh of relief when he realized that, before realizing with somewhat more alarm that Yuusaku was instead wandering around elsewhere in the building, upstairs somewhere. Possibly where Toichi's easiest escape routes were. Was Yuusaku himself a phantom thief, using Toichi's heist as cover for his own theft? Or was he about to become extremely dangerous? There was no telling right now. He would just have to be extremely careful.</p><p>When the time came, and Toichi revealed himself in his stage whites, Yuusaku was still upstairs. The blue string disappeared through the ceiling. Toichi made sure to cause as much flashy chaos as possible before changing into police blues in a puff of smoke and slinking unnoticed out the side door sooner than he normally would.</p><p>Judging by the tension on their shared blue string, Yuusaku seemed to be waiting in the room that was Toichi's first choice of escape route, due to the large window and the night's winds. Toichi made his way to his second choice, on the south face of the building, signaling Jii to activate an inflatable dummy with a glider from the west face of the building, a few floors below where Yuusaku was waiting. Neither Ginzo nor Yuusaku would be fooled of course, but if anyone else from the police force spotted it, the dummy would be another valuable distraction. It would draw attention to precisely where he, the magician, wanted it to go: away from his mundane enabling movements.</p><p>The second room Jii had prepared, with the window doctored to be able to open, was no longer in an escape-friendly state. A precarious pile of furniture and scraps of metal was arranged in front of the window. There was no quick way to disassemble it, and if he let it fall while pushing past, it would cause a huge racket that would draw the attention of the cops that might have otherwise been distracted. Toichi let himself quietly out of the room. He checked the room on the east-facing outer wall, the least preferable based on the wind direction tonight, and found it in the same state. Yuusaku was waiting, unmoving, in the west. In the way of the best escape route.</p><p>He could try other floors, or even the roof, but Yuusaku had been this thorough, there was a strong chance he had rigged other traps for Toichi to get stuck in. It would waste precious time if he had to check them all.</p><p>Toichi swallowed his nerves and reinforced his Poker Face. He was going to face his soulmate. Hopefully this gamble wouldn't sink him.</p><p>There was no pile of furniture and junk in his ideal escape route. Here, it was just Yuusaku himself, sitting in front of the window and reading a book. He didn't have handcuffs anywhere obvious on his person, in order to make a citizens' arrest, but Toichi knew how easy they were to hide. He wouldn't be letting his guard down.</p><p>“Took you long enough,” Yuusaku muttered, not looking up from his book. He moved his oversized bookmark from the page he was on to the following one, keeping his finger under the page until he was ready to turn it.</p><p>Toichi left the door open behind him. He knew better than to close off an escape route. “What do you want?” he asked, keeping his tone light and cheery. “You went to a lot of effort to channel me to this room.” As though the effort merely intrigued him, and he wasn't worried in the slightest about being caught.</p><p>“If I learn from you at your heists, you can't charge me as a student,” Yuusaku answered, too easily. That couldn't be all he wanted. The Kudous were both independently wealthy and Toichi honestly wasn't charging that much for his services. With as popular as the first few Night Baron books had proven to be – Oh, that was it. Yuusaku was writing a series about a phantom thief, and he wanted to study an actual phantom thief. Toichi wasn't sure how Yuusaku had figured him out, but as a motive, that would be relatively harmless. Toichi still didn't trust that it was the whole story.</p><p>“You study from me at heists and I'll owe you nothing else,” Toichi made his counteroffer, still working to sound bored, unaffected. He wasn't interested in being blackmailed into more, especially by a soulmate.</p><p>“Hmm,” Yuusaku failed to agree. “You haven't even asked me not to capture you,” he observed. “Though it <em>would</em> be counter-productive to get my teacher arrested, wouldn't it?” he asked rhetorically. At least, Toichi hoped it was rhetorically.</p><p>Yuusaku's voice was as infuriatingly casual as Toichi's own. He stood up suddenly, and Toichi only just contained his instinct to flinch. Yuusaku pressed his bookmark – a full sheet of printer paper – into Toichi's hands, along with something solid and round that had definitely come from his pocket, but too quickly for Toichi to spot what it was.</p><p>“Mark your answer with this,” he instructed quietly, passing over another paper.</p><p>Yuusaku sat back down, going back to his book as though nothing had happened. Yuusaku may not be a magician, but he certainly had a respectable Poker Face.</p><p>Toichi examined the items now in his hands. The first paper had a giant <b>?</b> on one side, and computer-printed text on the other. The first few lines made it obvious it was a letter that Yuusaku wanted him to respond to, but he could wait and read it later. The second paper had a giant <b>!</b> on one side, and nothing on the other. And the something solid and round appeared to be a ball made of stainless steel, with no obvious seams, and a valve sticking out. It had a nozzle like the ones on oxygen tanks for scuba diving. A gas canister? At least it appeared to be locked so it couldn't actually deploy whatever it was holding.</p><p>“It's sleeping gas,” Yuusaku explained quietly, when Toichi glanced up to ask. “You knocked me out with it before you escaped out the window. Hold your breath,” he instructed, and Toichi just had time to process the instruction and take a gulp of air before Yuusaku had pulled a second small canister out of his pocket and activated it. He dropped the hissing ball, letting it roll under his chair. Moments later, he was sagging in his chair, his head dropping to his chest. Toichi's eyes widened, but his chest was starting to ache, determined to breathe freely again. He stashed the papers and the canister that had been shoved into his hands into zippered pockets, and launched himself out the window, waiting until his glider caught the air currents and he didn't feel like he was falling before he dared to take a breath.</p><p>That was even weirder than when he had first met Ginzo.</p><p> </p><p>The note was mostly in code, describing how to produce the sleeping gas with everyday chemicals and kitchen equipment so that it was untraceable. It also held a direct challenge to compete over solving each others' riddles, and provided the first riddle for Toichi to solve.</p><p>Perhaps Yuusaku was just hoping to discover an intellectual equal. Toichi was certainly game for that.</p><p>As a post-script, Yuusaku apologized for being the reason the police force had taken to calling the thief “Kid.” In lieu of an explanation, Yuusaku had scribbled in the number 1412 by hand, Toichi's international identification as a thief. But the digits were sloppily drawn, and the 2 didn't have much of a tail... Ah, yes. Toichi could see how that writing could be read as “KID” instead of as a number. But would the police really apply the nickname “kid” to someone who was clearly an adult?</p><p><br/>
 </p><p>...Evidently, yes they would. Ah, well. It made it easier to refer to his night job as a different persona, now that he had a nickname, not just a designated number.</p><p> </p><p>They settled into a pattern after that. Yuusaku would appear at heists, sneaking in and avoiding the police just as easily as Toichi would. He would study Toichi's tricks, and set up barriers and traps trying to catch him. Toichi started preemptively setting his own traps for Yuusaku, and if they caught the police instead, they were certainly slowing down his pursuit. Yuusaku helped Toichi improve his card gun and other gadgets, and Toichi read and approved the future Night Baron books before the drafts were sent to the editor. The men would also challenge each other outside of heists with riddles and puzzles.<b>?</b> and <b>!</b> became their code, a way of drawing attention without directly handing over the challenges and answers.</p><p> </p><p>When little Shinichi intercepted one of the riddles, and solved it himself at just six years old, Toichi thought fondly that Shinichi was on track to become just as much of a terror as his father.</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. the stuff of nightmares</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>CW for Toichi's apparent death and Kaito being traumatized by it</p><p>not critical for understanding any other chapters; skip if you need to</p><p>the source of Kaito's ichthyophobia</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kaito watched from backstage, proudly learning from his father's show. But his pride turned quickly to horror when the fire lit, because his Pops wasn't moving. He was supposed to be moving, escaping his bonds with a quick-release hidden from the audience. The fire was supposed to be <em>in front</em> of his Pops, between him and the audience so he could hide the simplicity of his escape, not surrounding him! Not burning him away!</p><p>Pops had barely even gasped when it went wrong. His Poker Face was so much better than Kaito's own. Kaito <em>knew</em> he was never meant to interfere, but how could he not? His father was burning!</p><p>Kaito couldn't find the fire extinguisher! They always had a fire extinguisher in case of emergencies! Or was that only during rehearsal? He couldn't think. There was no time.</p><p>Kaito grabbed the fishbowl – he couldn't even remember what trick it was for right now – and rushed onto stage where the audience was finally screaming. He tossed the water desperately onto the flames, but it only doused his Pops' feet. The goldfish was flopping helplessly on the ground, its bulging eyes reminding Kaito more than ever of a panicked expression.</p><p>The goldfish was dying, his father wasn't moving, the flames were flickering hot above him, and Kaito couldn't do anything but stand there, horrified and numb. Was this even happening? It had to be a bad dream.</p><p>He woke up the next day, vaguely unsettled and unsure why, but his Mom told him tearfully that it hadn't been a dream. His Pops was dead. He didn't even remember properly what had happened, just flames and heat and horror.</p><p> </p><p>The next time Aoko's dad served whitefish, Kaito sat down to eat and saw the cloudy, dead eyes of the fish head, and its dull scales, and his whole body seized up with panic. He didn't know why, and no one else seemed to understand, but he was screaming. It was the only thing he could do.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. A New KID</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It had been eight years since Toichi "died" and Kid disappeared. But now someone claiming to be Kid had announced a heist. The entire precinct was in an uproar. Kid was back? Why had he stopped for so long? Why had he returned now?</p><p>Ginzo ignored the tiny flame of hope burning in his chest. Sure, Toichi's string hadn't crumbled away with his death, as strings were known to do, but it also wasn't indicating that Toichi was anywhere close.</p><p>Ginzo and Toichi had been a strange sort of friends, despite their rivalry, and despite <em>Kid</em>, but Ginzo wasn't sure he could forgive Toichi for what his fake death had done to Kaito. Chikage had insisted he keep the truth a secret, and Ginzo had deferred to her wishes as a parent, but it left him uneasy.</p><p>Chikage's absence, her persistent travel abroad, didn't help either. Ginzo had practically raised the boy since that mess, and it had left a permanent mark on his psyche. He didn't dare say anything to Kaito about his father not being dead. He would have concluded that both of his parents had abandoned him, and Kaito didn't deserve that. (Ginzo certainly felt that they had, but he couldn't share that rage with an undeserving child.)</p><p>If Toichi had indeed returned, Ginzo had a <em>lot</em> to say to him.</p><p> </p><p>At the heist, Ginzo kept glancing at his strings, as much as he could get away with. Toichi's string continued to indicate he was far away: the green string was thin and loose with distance, drifting slightly with his movements. But if Toichi wasn't running this heist, who was?</p><p>The imposter didn't speak. He wore a Night Baron mask, grinning emptily at the officers chasing him, and Nakamori didn't even have a gray string connecting him to the fake Kid. All things considered, he hoped that meant they would catch this criminal, this imposter thief, tonight and punish him properly, for his theft, and for his impersonation.</p><p>Alas, the imposter escaped, as seamlessly as Kid always had, leaving Ginzo fuming. How <em>dare</em> someone try to replace the irreplaceable Kuroba Toichi, the real Kaitou Kid.</p><p>At least he returned the jewels he stole, just like Toichi had, Ginzo realized irritably when the latest theft, a palm-sized diamond, tumbled into his pot with the rice he was trying to prepare for breakfast.</p><p> </p><p>A few heists later, Kaito appeared in place of the imposter, in his father's stage whites. The yellow string connecting them was unmistakable, Ginzo felt an odd ache in his chest. Kaito believed Toichi dead, and was stepping up into his rightful place as Kid, but <em>why</em>? What was so important that two generations of otherwise good people were determined to steal jewels only to return them?</p><p>Kaito should be able to hold onto his innocence longer. He was only a teenager; he should be a <em>kid</em> not a Kid.</p><p>But then, any hope of Kaito having a happy normal childhood had been ruined when Toichi faked his death. Kaito hadn't been an innocently happy child for a long time. Ginzo hated Toichi all over again for that.</p><p>Toichi would have a lot of explaining to do when he returned. Ginzo had to believe he would return. Why else would Toichi and Kid have “died” at the same time unless it was related to this unspecified goal?</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Clock Tower - Shinichi</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It didn't mean anything that one of his gray strings disappeared directly into that clock tower. Evidently there was some sort of heist in progress – someone had threatened to steal the entire clock tower, which was absurd. The thing was bolted to the ground, and probably weighed a literal ton. Anyway, with as much time as Shinichi spent around the police, it wasn't surprising that he would have at least one Connection among the police – one more after Megure, who had enthusiastically taken to mentoring him shortly after they had met.</p><p>Since they were in the area, and the thief would apparently <em>fly</em> away sometimes, the helicopter was asked to stay and keep an eye on the perimeter. Shinichi didn't mind. It was nice to experience something new among police work once in a while. He wanted to be a private detective, like Holmes, but he would have to work with the police regardless, and knowing their patterns and expectations could only help him in the future.</p><p>As he listened to the radio chatter, Shinichi couldn't help but deduce patterns and predict the thief's moves. He called instructions through the radio to help the officers keep up. The police listened – no one questioned his qualifications due to his age, since they couldn't see his face and who else would have access to a police radio besides the police? Megure let him get away with so much – and evidently, thanks to his instructions, they were gaining ground on the thief.</p><p>And then, in a burst of smoke, the jewel-encrusted hands of the clock were gone.</p><p>That was physically impossible, given the size of them, the time it would take to disconnect them, the effort it would take to drag them inside.... But the blank surface of the clock wasn't flat. Shinichi wasn't <em>cheating</em> by looking at his string disappearing into the center of the clock, but the surface was slightly distorted, and the distortion was moving.</p><p>Simple: the blank clock face was a sheet covering the thief while he attempted to actually remove the hands.</p><p>Shinichi smiled, pleased at determining the solution so easily. He could reveal the thief easily too. Shinichi had always been a great shot., and now that he was looking for it, he could see the edges of the ledge the thief must be standing on. He borrowed Megure's gun, and aimed carefully.</p><p>He aimed the gun at the distortion under the cloth, then adjusted his aim about a meter above where he guessed the thief's head was. Even if his string hadn't been in the way of the scope, Shinichi didn't want to kill anyone, just spook the thief into coming out. He wanted to <em>arrest</em> murderers, not become one.</p><p>After a single shot, nothing seemed to happen. Then, just a few heartbeats later, but late enough that it couldn't have been from his shot alone, the cloth fell, rippling, revealing the true clock face. The hands were still in place. Unfortunately, the thief seemed to have disappeared inside, and Shinichi's Connection seemed to be falling with the sheet, slower than he would have expected. Shinichi couldn't do anything from the helicopter to help, but they kept moving after they reached the ground, fluidly and without hesitation, so Shinichi knew they hadn't been injured thanks to his actions. That was more of a relief than he would like to admit. It was absolutely irrational to feel anything for someone he hadn't even met. He just didn't want to have committed manslaughter, is all. Especially since he had the private proof that someone had fallen due to his actions.</p><p>He looked back at the clock tower. The hands still told the correct time, and they were sitting parallel to the face, so they probably hadn't been loosened. Instead, there was something written on the clock face. He asked Megure to take them closer, and the Inspector happily obliged. Shinichi copied the puzzle down into his notebook and easily solved it, while the police radio buzzed with chatter demanding to know what it might mean</p><p>Someone had pretended to be a thief just because they didn't want the clock tower sold and torn down. Shinichi shook his head in wonder. Other than wasting police time, he wasn't sure there was any sort of crime going on here.</p><p>He didn't volunteer the answer as the helicopter was given leave to return to headquarters. The longer the police wondered over the message, the longer the clock tower would stay untouched.</p><p>Shinichi's Connection had circled the area and settled in with the crowd of civilians rather than inside the police barricade where the officers were still circled around the clock tower, closing the investigation.</p><p>Curious.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Why yes, Shinichi is just as skeptical of the concept of soulmates as he is in many soulmate AUs. But he can't deny that his strings connect him to others who have turned out to be important in his life.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Clock Tower - Kaito</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kaito ignored the fact that one of his soulmates was close. He was in the middle of a heist, and they hadn't met yet, so he wasn't in danger of being identified as Kid. Nakamori was thundering about somewhere below, probably on the ground floor of the clock tower, while Kaito made his way up.</p><p>He had never understood why Nakamori pretended not to know him at heists. He certainly made enough noise about <em>needing</em> to catch Kid, <em>wanting</em> to catch Kid, we're <em>going</em> to catch Kid... But he never acknowledged Kaito or the pale yellow string they shared at heists, and he never mentioned it outside of heists, or tried to arrest Kaito in a quieter setting.</p><p>He didn't understand, but he wasn't about to ask Nakamori about it and be arrested for confessing.</p><p>Oops! No time for emotions and curiosities! The officers had apparently realized this shaft was here and they could climb it, and that Kid could also be climbing it. He had expected that no one would think to even look here. Kaito couldn't afford to get caught before he had accomplished his goal today. He <em>had</em> to do it. For Aoko. He couldn't let this clock tower be destroyed. Kaito scrambled to finish climbing so the police couldn't catch him. He narrowly escaped, <em>again</em>, and breathed a sigh of relief. Why were they suddenly so attentive? He had been spotted as Kid for no apparent reason after identifying himself with correct information from a badge he'd borrowed. He <em>knew</em> he had gotten the information right. What had given him away?</p><p>He got to the room right behind the clock face and took another steadying breath. Now he just had to wait for <em>showtime</em>. Patience was hard when his heart was still racing from adrenaline. As his heart rate slowed, he had a moment to pay attention, and he realized the gray string, the new soulmate that was so close, was reaching up. He was on the top floor! And the gray one wasn't straight up along with Jii's orange, leading to the roof where Jii was hiding with the prepared decoy clock face, on top of the tower. The gray string stretched up and out. Kaito risked a glance out past the clock face, and realized the string was disappearing into a nearby police helicopter.</p><p>Nakamori was risky enough as a soulmate, and Aoko would be too, if Keiko ever succeeded at dragging her into the crowds at a heist. Did he really have to have <em>another</em> soulmate that was a cop? What was his life coming to?</p><p>Right on time, as they had planned, Kaito ignited a smoke bomb and Jii released the decoy cloth. Kaito had climbed out carefully onto the ledge below the clock face to work before the smoke had even faded. Fortunately, a lifetime of gymnastics had given him excellent balance.</p><p>He had just finished writing his message with an oversized permanent marker when he heard a <em>crack</em>above him. That sounded like a bullet. Kaito glanced up and recognized the damage. Definitely a bullet. He would have worried for Jii if his string hadn't already been stretching down, following his assistant's escape from the limelight.</p><p>Well, his message was delivered anyway. Kaito fired two quick shots with his card gun, letting the razor edges cut the twine holding the cloth up. The cloth billowed as it fell, and Kaito let himself fall with it, deploying his glider in brief bursts, hidden behind the cloth, to slow his fall. The cloth caught plenty of air resistance too so he was fairly sure no one would notice him unless they were watching specifically for the hard corners of the glider under the ever-shifting cloth.</p><p>He hit the ground only a little harder than was comfortable, taking the impact into the bend of his knees, and letting himself roll backwards as the glider structure folded back into its position under his cape. He successfully directed the rest of his downward momentum sideways through the roll, and popped up on his feet around the side of the clock tower where no one was looking.</p><p>He quickly swapped out his performance uniform for his dark escape outfit – black sweater that wasn't as bulky as it looked, so he could fold his cape and other accessories easily underneath it, gray ball cap, and dark blue jeans – before the white suit could draw attention in the shadows. He hardly even stopped moving as he changed, darting and weaving until he was safely beyond the crowd. Jii's string was loose, like he was far away. They had planned that Jii should go home alone tonight, and Kaito would try to find Aoko to deliver the good news that Kid's attention had the police demanding the structure stay until they had figured out exactly what he had done to it. The clock tower wasn't about to disappear.</p><p>Kaito looked at the strings tied around his fingers. Jii was far away, the helicopter was leaving, and his mystery soulmate with it, and Aoko was... Already in the crowd. Uh oh. Kaito stashed his ball cap with his cape under his sweater, ruffled his hair back to maximum chaos, and started weaving through the crowds to find her.</p><p>“Aoko-chan!” he greeted her, appearing at her elbow from behind. “Looks like Kid-sama left the tower in place, huh?”</p><p>Aoko gave him a scrutinizing look. “Thank you,” she murmured under her breath, so sincerely that Kaito's breath caught. She knew. “They're already saying they have to keep the clock tower at least long enough to interpret Kid-san's message,” she informed him in a slightly more normal tone.</p><p>Kaito grinned wickedly, and Aoko's face lit up with a smile of her own, small and amused, and <em>adoring</em>. Oh, that was intimidating. Now he had to <em>live up</em>to that adoration. He still couldn't help but grin. Aoko didn't hate him as much as she had claimed to hate Kid.</p><p>While they each smiled, words unnecessary, another cry went up from the officers. They had realized the emeralds in the clock hands were fakes. The owners were going to have a lot of explaining to do.</p><p>...Unless the cops just assumed Kid had traded them out for the real stones, which he hadn't. But if they thought so, his reputation was going to take a hit for failing to return the emeralds. Hmm. He'd have to find some way to mitigate that.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Introducing Conan - Ran</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Ran had fixed her shoelace, she moved to follow Shinichi, but instead of coming back to her, he was moving away. Away from Tropical Land, moving vaguely towards their homes. Ran huffed in irritation – had her dork of a best friend forgotten her? – and moved to follow.</p><p>She found Shinichi's neighbor Agasa in Shinichi's house, but she ignored him and his protests for the moment, following the lavender string connecting her pinkie to Shinichi's, until she found him. Shinichi was now small, baby-faced, and terrified, looking exactly as he had when they had met at age five. He was even dressed in an old private school uniform that he had hated. He stared up at her, trembling.</p><p>“What... Shinichi... How?” she managed to ask.</p><p>“A poison did this to me,” he admitted. “I want to let them believe I'm dead but you won't be the only one to recognize me because of our strings. Agasa-hakase did too. What am I going to do?” he moaned, hiding his face in his hands.</p><p>“I'll take you in,” Ran decided, sitting next to him and wrapping an arm around his tiny shoulders. The answer of "poison" had only brought up more questions, but Ran understood that Shinichi needed her comfort right now more than she needed to understand. His tiny, warm body pressed eagerly into her side, providing nearly as much reassurance as she hoped she was giving him. “I won't let on to your secret, and surely if anyone else is going to be an issue, you'll be able to convince them to keep quiet too. Agasa-san was already trying to prevent me from finding you. He's on your side.”</p><p>Shinichi nodded minutely, still trembling.</p><p>“You'll need a name,” Ran observed, calmer now that she was working on a solution. Was this why Shinichi enjoyed solving mysteries? Because it kept the horror at bay? “And a reason to stay with us. Are you Shinichi-kun's cousin who was supposed to stay with him before he disappeared?”</p><p>Shinichi sat back, and met her eyes. She could tell by his expression that his brain was going a mile a minute. He nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah, I can be my own... Shinichi-niisan's cousin.” They both flinched when he used his own name in the third person. “Let's have Agasa-hakase help us with the details. He may be able to forge me some documents too.”</p><p>Ran raised her eyebrows. “Do I want to know why he can do that?”</p><p>Shinichi shrugged, grinning innocently, though his eyes sparkled with mischief. “I don't know why either. I just heard Dad mention it one time.”</p><p> </p><p>Over an hour later, Ran and the newly dubbed Edogawa Conan arrived at her apartment.</p><p>“We're home!” she called, and followed her father's muffled greeting to the kitchen where he was working on a simple dinner. “Dad, this is Edogawa Conan-kun,” she explained. “He was going to stay with Shinichi-kun, but that's... not possible anymore. Can he stay with us?” She stumbled through the rehearsed story, not specifying that Shinichi was dead, but anyone who knew they shared a string would assume she had good reason to believe Shinichi wasn't available. Shinichi had assured her earlier that her hesitance in telling the story made it seem more emotional, which would help the impression that he had died, even if she never said so.</p><p>Her dad just hummed, with an unimpressed frown. He crouched to meet Conan's “shy” gaze for a moment before asking, “What's the real story? Why are you small?”</p><p>“Poison,” Conan answered easily. “I have to hide.” Ran couldn't think why he would admit... Oh. If her father was becoming his father figure, it was likely they were a form of soulmates too. That was common among stepfamilies, even if parents and children and grandchildren were never visibly connected. Fate didn't need to tell families they would be important to each other. So of course her father would recognize their connection. She couldn't believe she hadn't thought of that, and now she had lied to her father. She had lied straight to his face and he had seen right through her. Honestly, Ran was surprised he didn't seem more upset. And in her defense, neither of them had ever mentioned being soulmates, even though they'd been acquainted for years.</p><p>“Tell your parents before I do,” her father instructed seriously, still meeting Conan's gaze. Conan turned red, and Ran wondered why she hadn't noticed that omission yet. Either neither of them had thought of that in the panicked planning earlier, or Shinichi had thought of his parents and decided not to say anything.</p><p>Kogoro straightened up. “Whatever. Welcome to the apartment, freeloader," he said dismissively, carrying his bowl to the couch and clicking on his favorite idol show.</p><p>Ran scowled at Conan. “Why didn't you warn me Dad would know you on sight, like I did?”</p><p>Conan shrank into himself, eyes wide like a kicked puppy. “I forgot...” he whined, in the exact tone he had used a few too many times to get them out of trouble with teachers. She wasn't buying it now. She folded her arms and huffed angrily at him. Evidently he figured out that she wouldn't be fooled, because he sounded more like himself when he asked, “Does it matter? We needed to tell him the official story anyway.”</p><p>Ugh! How was he always so logical? “We needed to tell him,” she conceded. “But <em>tell</em> me things like that in the future. Please.”</p><p>Conan hesitated before agreeing. That didn't bode well.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>If you haven't already, I highly recommend reading <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/10390479">Freeloader</a>, a fic I like to think of as canon (incompatible with this soulmate AU)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Introducing Conan - Kogoro</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Shortly after he had sat down, the phone rang with a new case. Kogoro turned off his show and dashed about getting ready, loudly excited about the business.</p><p>Conan waited eagerly for him at the door. “I'm coming too!” he insisted. Kogoro scowled at him, but didn't argue. He was smart enough not to refuse Kudou Shinichi's help on a case, no matter what his pride said.</p><p>Ran sighed and followed them out the door, probably hoping to mediate, considering her friend and her father had always bickered before. Kogoro didn't mind her meddling. Minimizing conflicts when he had just agreed to take in that detective brat, was a worthy goal. They always seemed to get on each others' nerves.</p><p>Kogoro was worried for the kid already. (He was still a kid even if he <em>hadn't</em> been shrunk. Ran was a kid too, despite how high schoolers always liked to think of themselves as adults.) What had he gotten into that resulted in being poisoned? Sure, Megure and the force let him run around on crime scenes, and encouraged his amateur detective-ing, but that shouldn't have earned him any enemies. It was the police who arrested criminals, and the criminals themselves who ruined their own lives by breaking the law.</p><p>He let his pondering thoughts fade away when they got to the site. He asked immediately for details about the missing girl, and how long between she was seen and she was discovered missing. Her father was so eager to get her back that he had offered a tidy sum, enough to make up for the slow month at the detective agency.</p><p>Sometime along the way, Conan had disappeared. The string connecting them was thin, indicating distance. The kid had pointed out the dog's lack of response to the kidnapper, and while the adults were arguing about the implications of that, Conan had disappeared. The dog wasn't visible anywhere nearby either. Hopefully he would find them together.</p><p>He motioned Ran over. “Our brat is missing too. Where did he go?” he muttered, not wanting to distract from the case. Plus it really didn't look good for him finding one missing kid if he couldn't even keep track of his own. ...His. Why did he already consider the brat his? That was a thought that required further attention. But not now. Not in the middle of a case.</p><p>She immediately looked around, alarmed, like she hadn't realized until he said anything. Pity he hadn't managed to train her to be as observant as a detective should be. He would like to make the agency a proper family business. “I... I don't know,” she whispered, concerned.</p><p>“He's one of your soulmates, isn't he?” Kogoro remembered.</p><p>She flushed. “Yes! Well, no... Kind of?”</p><p>Kogoro smirked. He remembered very well her disappointment, when she and Suzuki had been reading those flashy teen magazines, and they had discovered the column declaring it would help you determine which string to follow to find which string led to your True Romantic Soulmate. The bit was garbage of course, about as accurate as horoscopes. But Ran had been so disappointed observing that her string connecting her to Kudou was purple, not red or pink, and on her little finger, representing loyalty and promises, not her ring finger representing love or marriage. Suzuki had a proper meltdown about the fact that her friends wouldn't be marrying each other. That had been annoying, and a bit earsplitting. At least it discouraged Ran's romantic interest in the boy. Kogoro had a hard time accepting that his little girl was big enough to date anyone, and he got defensive just considering her dating someone as cocky as the teenage “detective.” Plus, if she and Kudou had been dating, he would have been much more uncomfortable with the idea of accepting the boy into his home, even in his current predicament.</p><p>“Follow your string and find him.” Kogoro instructed quietly. She turned and jogged off to find Ku...Conan. <em>Conan</em>. Safer to always think of the kid as Conan so he could never slip up verbally.</p><p>Kogoro was aware of Ran's retreating presence even as he turned back to question the butler. He had kidnapped the girl, Kogoro was sure of it. He just had to establish proof.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Fireworks</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kaito had portrayed a fake innocence too many times to be taken in by the child's cheerful declaration of "fireworks!"</p><p>He knew exactly what he was doing.</p><p>Kaito wasn't sure what to think of this child. He had never expected to meet a soulmate on the job (at least, not this job), let alone a soulmate that was a grade schooler.</p><p>But on the other hand, the kid - no pun intended - had been the only one to expect Kaito on a separate building than the one he threatened, and he had come prepared with fireworks to signal the police who were looking in the wrong place. He was <em>smart</em>.</p><p>And he was Kaito's soulmate. Kaito supposed that was better than meeting a soulmate ten years younger than him who acted their age.</p><p>In fact, this kid was on the end of the only string on his right hand ring finger - which was now a familiar blue. He was the one that had been in the helicopter at the clock tower. Why the hell had a grade schooler been allowed to ride along on an on-duty police helicopter?</p><p>Unless he was more than he appeared. All Kaito had heard from Nakamori in the wake of the clock tower was that "some hotshot" had been giving the orders that resulted in Kaito having such narrow escapes. But this kid had been there for the clock tower when someone had more smarts than the usual police, and here he was again, outsmarting the police and forcing Kaito to stay on his toes. Maybe he was the mastermind from last time too. That was absurd, but it fit the facts. Interesting. He would have to look up the kid later. He had introduced himself promptly too. Kaito wondered how much information he would find on “Edogawa Conan, Detective.”</p><p>Kaito knew he should have minded that someone so little could keep up with him so apparently effortlessly, but the prospect really just got his adrenaline pumping. He looked forward to the challenges his soulmate would bring.</p><p> </p><p>Shinichi wasn't as upset as he probably should have been, realizing that one of his Connections was a thief. Kaitou Kid was at the other end of the only string on Shinichi's left pinkie finger, which was now the same blue as the stripe on Kid's hat. He was the one who had been at the clock tower.</p><p>Shinichi tried not to hold on to denial. Sure, at the time, he hadn't let himself even consider that he might be Connected to a thief, but from all his research on Kid in the past few days, and the memory of his message to save the clock tower, Shinichi couldn't help but think his newly recognized Connection was harmless. He returned everything he stole, if he stole anything at all. He had revealed the fraud of the corrupt "owners" who had been about to sell that clock tower, and left a message saying nothing more than he wouldn't let it be destroyed.</p><p>Kid wanted to protect things, not claim them. Shinichi found he didn't mind at all who his newest Connection was.</p><p>He only felt slightly bad about signaling the police before he had turned around to properly "meet" the thief. Just because they were Connected didn't mean they couldn't be rivals who pushed each other to be their very best. In the case of a detective and a thief, his best would be preventing or capturing, and Kid's would be thieving or escaping.</p><p>Kid lived up to Shinichi's expectations, blending in with the police seamlessly until he slipped back inside so suddenly that Shinichi almost missed it.</p><p>He was looking forward to meeting the thief again.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. All Aboard</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was entirely too easy for Shinichi to notice when Kid took Ran's place, considering he was Connected to both of them. Her string didn't appear to be moving, but he followed it, just in case, and found her tucked safely out of the way in a lifeboat, sleeping. Kid had even provided a blanket and pillow. Kid was wearing an identical dress, but Ran still had her own. Shinichi shook her shoulder gently, but she didn't even stir so he left her there. Sure, he would have liked to sit by her side and make sure she was oriented and not scared when she woke up, but there was still a theft to prevent tonight. Ran would be safe here even if something happened to the ship. She was already in a lifeboat after all.</p><p>He returned to the dining hall and found Sonoko peering curiously at Kid. She frowned at Shinichi when he returned and made a shushing motion when he raised an amused eyebrow. At least she understood that if she started fangirling at Kid, too loudly, or in the presence of detectives, she would reveal him and then he would have to take up a different role where she couldn't talk to him. She didn't want him to disappear for that reason, and Shinichi didn't want him to disappear because he wanted to keep a close eye on his rival. At least they were working toward the same goal.</p><p>Sonoko had been surprisingly understanding when she met him as Conan. Their string, connecting his thumb to her middle finger, had outed him again. But other than making fun of Shinichi to Ran within Conan's earshot a <em>little</em> more than necessary, she accepted his new identity easily. She didn't challenge him or demand the story. Shinichi and Sonoko bickered frequently, true, but he valued her friendship, and he was glad she had accepted his new role in their lives.</p><p>“Hey, Conan-kun,” Sonoko said, interrupting his quiet observation of Kid. “Why don't you sneak backstage, and see if you can bring back one of the magician's props. I want to know how it works.”</p><p>Shinichi rolled his eyes. Kogoro had staggered off to find another drink, so if he left, Sonoko would be alone at the table with her idol, Kid. But it was also one of the games they had played as kids. As the lone children at their rich parents' fancy parties, they had often found themselves giggling together under tables, or daring each other to sneak backstage and do something undetected that would affect the guest speaker of the night while they were speaking.</p><p>Evidently, now that Shinichi was small enough to fit under tables again, Sonoko was taking the opportunity to sow mischief again. She seemed to be delighting in the fact that he couldn't dare her back. By the time they were in middle school, they had agreed they were too big for such pranks. But he was now small enough again. She was also taking every chance to tease him indirectly about being small again, and this suggestion pulled double duty.</p><p>“<em>Pleeeeeease</em>,” she whined, in that tone she knew he hated.</p><p>Shinichi sighed. “Okay, okay, I'll go.” He stepped up to Sonoko's chair, and stood on tiptoes to murmur, low so only she could hear, “Have fun talking to your <em>idol</em>, Sonoko-<em>baachan</em>”</p><p>Sonoko was Connected to Ran too. And with Kid present, there was only one person who would look perfectly like Ran who wasn't Ran herself. There was no way Shinichi was outing him by implying so to Sonoko. Regardless, he didn't wait around to see her reaction, or Kid's if he realized what was said. He just darted off into the crowd before her shriek of "you <em>brat</em>!" could deafen him. He disappeared behind a table before stopping to giggle breathlessly like the child he appeared to be. If he was small, then she was old. Turnabout was fair play.</p><p>He debated whether to actually prank the magician Sonoko's uncle had hired. He may be <em>small</em> enough for such antics now, but he was certainly <em>old</em> enough to know better.</p><p>Then again, he wouldn't mind getting a sneak peak at the magician's equipment. It would make deducing his tricks that much easier. And maybe Kid would be impressed if Shinichi managed to stash his own prank among the props that would activate when the magician tried to use it. Shinichi wouldn't necessarily claim responsibility, but it would prove to himself that he was on an equal level with Kid, whether in magic or in heist planning and prevention. What else were rivals for?</p><p>When the magician's plastic wand sent out a puff of glitter upon tapping the hat he was about to pull something “out from,” the man was so startled that he entirely dropped the hat, staring at the wand in his hand. “Disappointing,” Kid-as-Ran muttered. “He's so obviously startled at messing up, it ruins the immersion. I was hoping for a good show.”</p><p>Shinichi smirked. Could Kid tell the magician had been pranked, but he was trying to stay in character? Or could he really not tell that the magician's wand hadn't been meant to do that? Regardless, he had nudged at his unflappable Connection's facade, and that was something he could take pride in.</p><p> </p><p>Edogawa Conan – Kudou Shinichi – didn't have much of a Poker Face. He looked entirely too pleased at Kaito's understated disappointment in the hired performer. Had the glitter been his doing? Suzuki had sent him off earlier to do something, but he had expected the not-child to be too straight-laced to actually <em>do</em> anything. Kaito reassessed his opinion of his soulmate yet again. He would have to add that to his list of questions when he inevitably got his little soulmate alone later tonight.</p><p>Honestly, Kaito was proud. His soulmate was a prankster as well as a challenge. He was eager for their showdown tonight, and for future meetings.</p>
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